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General Tommy Franks Offers Advice to MacDill Grads

June 28, 2004

Gen. Tommy Franks addressed138 graduates at the Saint Leo
University MacDill Center commencement ceremony on June 26 at Saint
Lawrence Catholic Church in Tampa, Fla. The University also granted
Gen. Franks an honorary degree in recognition of his distinguished
military career. Monsignor Laurence E. Higgins, P.A. led the
invocation and introduced the General.

Gen. Franks retired in 2003 after 36 years of military service,
most notably serving as Commander in Chief, United States Central
Command. Prior to being promoted to four-star general and Commander
in Chief, United State Central Command, Gen. Franks was the
commander of the Third U.S. (Patton’s Own) from 1997 to 2000. Some
of his awards include the three Defense Distinguished Service
Medals with “V,' three Purple Hearts, and Air Medal with “V,' an
Army Commendation Medal with “V,' and numerous U.S. and foreign
service awards. He wears the Army General Staff Identification
Badge and the Aircraft Crewmember’s Badge.

The commencement ceremony recognizes degree candidates from the
University’s locations at MacDill Air Force Base, serving military
personnel and civilian students for 30 years. The degree candidates
have fulfilled the requirements for the following degrees: bachelor
of arts in business administration, criminology, elementary
education, human resources administration, psychology, and
sociology; bachelor of science in computer information systems; and
associate of arts in liberal arts.